Beijing: Beijing and other Chinese cities looked to reopen businesses and loosen testing requirements on Monday as the nation eased out of a strict zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy that sparked widespread protests.
Buoyed by orders from the central government for a new strategy to combat the coronavirus, local authorities across China have begun to gradually ease restrictions that have governed daily life for years.
In the capital Beijing, where many businesses have fully resumed operations, as of Monday, travelers are not required to present the result of a virus test taken within the past 48 hours.
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The same rules applied in financial hub Shanghai, which endured a brutal two-month lockdown this year, allowing locals to access outdoor spaces such as parks and tourist attractions without recent tests.
A step forward was taken by neighboring Hangzhou, which stopped routine mass testing for its 10 million residents except for those attending or living in nursing homes, schools and kindergartens.
Supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, and ski resorts all reopened Monday in the northwest Chinese city of Urumqi, the scene of a fire that killed 10 people and served as the inspiration for the most recent anti-lockdown demonstrations. did.
The city of more than forty million people in the far western Xinjiang region experienced one of China's longest lockdowns, with some areas closed from August to November.
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On Sunday, authorities in Shandong and Wuhan, where the coronavirus was first discovered in late 2019, removed testing requirements for public transport.
And on Sunday Zhengzhou, the city that is home to the biggest iPhone factory, announced that individuals without a negative test result within 48 hours would be allowed to enter public places, use public transport and enter their residential premises. will be given.
The World Health Organization has praised China's relaxation of its zero COVID-19 policy, following a nationwide outcry by thousands calling for more political freedoms and an end to the lockdown.
Although some COVID-19 regulations have been loosened, China's massive security apparatus has tightened online censorship and population surveillance to suppress additional rallies.
Long lines have also formed around testing facilities that remain after authorities demolished most of them, requiring residents to wait in cold weather for tests that are still required in most of China.
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On Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, a user said that "students can't go to school without testing negative within 24 hours." Another person asked, "What is the point of closing down the testing booths before completely getting rid of the need to show test results?
On Monday, Chinese authorities announced 29,724 new domestic COVID-19 cases.